QDB backs global entrepreneurship week Qatar

Qatar Development Bank (QDB) is backing the annual Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) Qatar for the second consecutive year. QDB is one of the founding partners of this initiative in Qatar which will be held here from November 17 to 21, the bank said Monday. Key organizations from Qatar and the rest of the world will host a variety of events, competitions and networking sessions designed to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship and support the world’s future business leaders. During the week QDB will host a number of workshops in association with other partner organizations namely Enterprise Qatar, Silatech, ICT Qatar, QBIC, Bedaya, Qatar University and others, specifically to educate entrepreneurs and small business owners on important financial aspects of starting and running a business, as well as showcasing exciting investment opportunities in Qatar. QDB will also host workshops on Islamic financing and Islamic wealth management, SME Toolkit and Al-Dhameen. The itinerary will also feature workshops showcasing the details of QDB’s studies about local investment opportunities in rail, waste management as well as workshops through Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC). The bank will also organize a two-days SME credit Risk Seminar on November 19 and 20 in association with International Faculty of Finance (IFF), a UK based specialized financial training organization to strengthen the capacities of other banks and financial institutions in Qatar for SME financing. QDB CEO Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa said, “SMEs are considered as a vital component in diversifying Qatar’s economy away from oil and gas, apart from its role in raising competitiveness and increase efficiency and future export evangelist. “Initiatives such as GEW are so important in proving the backing and guidance necessary to help SME business owners develop their ventures and we are proud to be one of the founders of this initiative in the State of Qatar.” Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Carl Schramm, President and CEO of Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, had launched the GEW in 2008. Since then, every November around 24,000 organizations host more than 37,000 activities across 115 different countries.